A winter storm warning has been issued for York and Chester counties, as forecasters say significant snowfall is headed to the area tonight.

The warning will be in effect from noon today until 7 a.m. Monday, according to the National Weather Service.

As much as 6 inches of snow is predicted to fall in Rock Hill by Monday morning, according to the weather service, with the majority of that coming this afternoon and tonight.

After a soggy Saturday, when up to 2 inches of rain was expected by midnight, rain continued through the night and into this morning, accompanied by isolated thunderstorms. Today's precipitation is expected to change to snow around mid-afternoon, forecasters say.

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The culprit is a low pressure system moving into the Carolinas that will trigger plummeting temperatures and cause any precipitation to turn to snow. Forecasters say the pattern of the system is similar to the storm that dumped 18 inches of snow in York County in 2004.

Though conditions are similar to the 2004 storm, Dixon said it's too early to tell whether all the right ingredients will fall into place to produce that type of storm again.

Though Rock Hill will almost certainly get at least several inches of snow, Dixon said, it should escape the heaviest accumulation, which is expected to be as much as 10 inches.

"Right now, we are expecting that to occur north of your area," he said.

Accuweather, a private weather firm, also expects the Rock Hill area to see solid accumulation of 2 to 5 inches.

Cotton Howell, York County's emergency management director, said he had a conference call Friday with municipal officials and other leaders from around York County -- including school district superintendents -- to discuss the potential for hazardous weather.

Another conference call with those people is scheduled this afternoon as the system gets closer, Howell said.

The comparisons to the 18 inches of 2004 don't have Howell worried.

"The potential is there for it all to happen," he said, "but we feel comfortable that we're as prepared as we can be."

With the exact track of the storm still unknown, Howell said he'll get regular updates today as conditions change.